Adaptive routing to avoid non-repairable memory and logic defects on automata processor

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for utilizing a defect map to configure an automata processor in order to avoid defects when configuring the automata processor. A system includes automata processor having a state machine lattice. The system also includes a non-volatile memory having a defect map stored thereon and indicating logical defects found on the automata processor. By including the defect map, a compiler may access the defect map to map out defects in the automata processor during configuring to avoid such defects.

BACKGROUND Field of Invention

Embodiments of the invention relate generally to electronic devices having automata processors and, more specifically, in certain embodiments, to failure mapping of automata processors.

Description of Related Art

Certain computational electronic devices and systems may include a number of processing resources (e.g., one or more processors), which may retrieve and execute instructions and store the results of the executed instructions to a suitable location. For example, the processing resources may include a number of functional units, arithmetic units, and similar circuitry to execute instructions by performing a number of Boolean logical operations and arithmetic functions. One particular processing resource may include an automata processor, which may be suitable for use in applications such as, for example, network security, computational biology, image processing, text searching, and so forth. These automata processors, may include, a combination of logical elements and dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cells which may be linked together and programmed in a multitude of ways to carry out a desirable function, such as pattern recognition. By configuring the different elements, and the connections between them, a programmer can create thousands of state machines on each chip all interconnected by a programmable fabric. These state machines can perform regular expression searches at performance levels that far exceed conventional approaches that may be limited by inherent inefficiencies found in systems utilizing a von Newmann architecture.

However, unlike typical DRAM memory arrays that utilize a von Newmann architecture, the automata processor may have large critical areas of the array that may only be minimally repairable. Based on the nature and design of the automata processor, a single flaw in the logical elements or DRAM cells may render an entire automata processor chip useless. Because defects in automata processors are difficult to repair or simply replace with redundant elements, minor flaws in the chips may result in the scrapping of the entire automata processor chip. It would be useful to provide a mechanism for utilizing automata processor chips having some acceptable threshold of minor defects in order to increase useable yield.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of system having a state machine engine, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an FSM lattice of the state machine engine of FIG. 1, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a block of the FSM lattice of FIG. 2, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a row of the block of FIG. 3, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 4A illustrates a block as in FIG. 3 having counters in rows of the block, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a Group of Two of the row of FIG. 4, according to embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a finite state machine graph, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of two-level hierarchy implemented with FSM lattices, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 7A illustrates a second example of two-level hierarchy implemented with FSM lattices, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a method for a compiler to convert source code into a binary file for programming of the FSM lattice of FIG. 2, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates a state machine engine, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 10 illustrates a card having automata processors and non-volatile memory for storing defect data, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating a method of creating and utilizing defect data to selectively program one or more processors, according to various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Turning now to the figures, FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a processor-based system, generally designated by reference numeral 10. The system 10 may be any of a variety of types such as a desktop computer, laptop computer, pager, cellular phone, personal organizer, portable audio player, control circuit, camera, etc. The system 10 may also be a network node, such as a router, a server, or a client (e.g., one of the previously-described types of computers). The system 10 may be some other sort of electronic device, such as a copier, a scanner, a printer, a game console, a television, a set-top video distribution or recording system, a cable box, a personal digital media player, a factory automation system, an automotive computer system, or a medical device. (The terms used to describe these various examples of systems, like many of the other terms used herein, may share some referents and, as such, should not be construed narrowly in virtue of the other items listed.)

In a typical processor-based device, such as the system 10, a processor 12, such as a microprocessor, controls the processing of system functions and requests in the system 10. Further, the processor 12 may comprise a plurality of processors that share system control. The processor 12 may be coupled directly or indirectly to each of the elements in the system 10, such that the processor 12 controls the system 10 by executing instructions that may be stored within the system 10 or external to the system 10.

In accordance with the embodiments described herein, the system 10 includes a state machine engine or automata processor 14, which may operate under control of the processor 12. As used herein, the terms “state machine engine” and “automata processor” are used interchangeably. The state machine engine 14 may employ any one of a number of state machine architectures, including, but not limited to Mealy architectures, Moore architectures, Finite State Machines (FSMs), Deterministic FSMs (DFSMs), Bit-Parallel State Machines (BPSMs), etc. Though a variety of architectures may be used, for discussion purposes, the application refers to FSMs. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the described techniques may be employed using any one of a variety of state machine architectures. Also, while a single state machine engine or automata processor 14 is illustrated in FIG. 1, it will be appreciated that the system 10 may include multiple state machine engines 14, as described further below with respect to FIG. 10.

As discussed further below, the state machine engine 14 may include a number of (e.g., one or more) finite state machine (FSM) lattices (e.g., core of a chip). For purposes of this application the term “lattice” refers to an organized framework (e.g., routing matrix, routing network, frame) of elements (e.g., Boolean cells, counter cells, state machine elements, state transition elements). Furthermore, the “lattice” may have any suitable shape, structure, or hierarchical organization (e.g., grid, cube, spherical, cascading). Each FSM lattice may implement multiple FSMs that each receive and analyze the same data in parallel. Further, the FSM lattices may be arranged in groups (e.g., clusters), such that clusters of FSM lattices may analyze the same input data in parallel. Further, clusters of FSM lattices of the state machine engine 14 may be arranged in a hierarchical structure wherein outputs from state machine lattices on a lower level of the hierarchical structure may be used as inputs to state machine lattices on a higher level. By cascading clusters of parallel FSM lattices of the state machine engine 14 in series through the hierarchical structure, increasingly complex patterns may be analyzed (e.g., evaluated, searched, etc.).

Further, based on the hierarchical parallel configuration of the state machine engine 14, the state machine engine 14 can be employed for complex data analysis (e.g., pattern recognition or other processing) in systems that utilize high processing speeds. For instance, embodiments described herein may be incorporated in systems with processing speeds of 1 GByte/sec. Accordingly, utilizing the state machine engine 14, data from high speed memory devices or other external devices may be rapidly analyzed. The state machine engine 14 may analyze a data stream according to several criteria (e.g., search terms), at about the same time, e.g., during a single device cycle. Each of the FSM lattices within a cluster of FSMs on a level of the state machine engine 14 may each receive the same search term from the data stream at about the same time, and each of the parallel FSM lattices may determine whether the term advances the state machine engine 14 to the next state in the processing criterion. The state machine engine 14 may analyze terms according to a relatively large number of criteria, e.g., more than 100, more than 110, or more than 10,000. Because they operate in parallel, they may apply the criteria to a data stream having a relatively high bandwidth, e.g., a data stream of greater than or generally equal to 1 GByte/sec, without slowing the data stream.

In one embodiment, the state machine engine 14 may be configured to recognize (e.g., detect) a great number of patterns in a data stream. For instance, the state machine engine 14 may be utilized to detect a pattern in one or more of a variety of types of data streams that a user or other entity might wish to analyze. For example, the state machine engine 14 may be configured to analyze a stream of data received over a network, such as packets received over the Internet or voice or data received over a cellular network. In one example, the state machine engine 14 may be configured to analyze a data stream for spam or malware. The data stream may be received as a serial data stream, in which the data is received in an order that has meaning, such as in a temporally, lexically, or semantically significant order. Alternatively, the data stream may be received in parallel or out of order and, then, converted into a serial data stream, e.g., by reordering packets received over the Internet. In some embodiments, the data stream may present terms serially, but the bits expressing each of the terms may be received in parallel. The data stream may be received from a source external to the system 10, or may be formed by interrogating a memory device, such as the memory 16, and forming the data stream from data stored in the memory 16. In other examples, the state machine engine 14 may be configured to recognize a sequence of characters that spell a certain word, a sequence of genetic base pairs that specify a gene, a sequence of bits in a picture or video file that form a portion of an image, a sequence of bits in an executable file that form a part of a program, or a sequence of bits in an audio file that form a part of a song or a spoken phrase. The stream of data to be analyzed may include multiple bits of data in a binary format or other formats, e.g., base ten, ASCII, etc. The stream may encode the data with a single digit or multiple digits, e.g., several binary digits.

As will be appreciated, the system 10 may include memory 16. The memory 16 may include volatile memory, such as Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), Double Data Rate DRAM (DDR SDRAM), DDR2 SDRAM, DDR3 SDRAM, DDR4 SDRAM etc. The memory 16 may also include non-volatile memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), PC-RAM, silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) memory, metal-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (MONOS) memory, polysilicon floating gate based memory, and/or other types of flash memory of various architectures (e.g., NAND memory, NOR memory, etc.) to be used in conjunction with the volatile memory. The memory 16 may include one or more memory devices, such as DRAM devices, that may provide data to be analyzed by the state machine engine 14. As used herein, the term “provide” may generically refer to direct, input, insert, issue, route, send, transfer, transmit, generate, give, make available, move, output, pass, place, read out, write, etc. Such devices may be referred to as or include solid state drives (SSD's), MultimediaMediaCards (MMC's), SecureDigital (SD) cards, CompactFlash (CF) cards, or any other suitable device. Further, it should be appreciated that such devices may couple to the system 10 via any suitable interface, such as Universal Serial Bus (USB), Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), PCI Express (PCI-E), Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), IEEE 1394 (Firewire), or any other suitable interface. To facilitate operation of the memory 16, such as the flash memory devices, the system 10 may include a memory controller (not illustrated). As will be appreciated, the memory controller may be an independent device or it may be integral with the processor 12. Additionally, the system 10 may include an external storage 18, such as a magnetic storage device. The external storage may also provide input data to the state machine engine 14.

The system 10 may include a number of additional elements. For instance, a compiler 20 may be used to configure (e.g., program) the state machine engine 14, as described in more detail with regard to FIG. 8. An input device 22 may also be coupled to the processor 12 to allow a user to input data into the system 10. For instance, an input device 22 may be used to input data into the memory 16 for later analysis by the state machine engine 14. The input device 22 may include buttons, switching elements, a keyboard, a light pen, a stylus, a mouse, and/or a voice recognition system, for instance. An output device 24, such as a display may also be coupled to the processor 12. The display 24 may include an LCD, a CRT, LEDs, and/or an audio display, for example. They system may also include a network interface device 26, such as a Network Interface Card (NIC), for interfacing with a network, such as the Internet. As will be appreciated, the system 10 may include many other components, depending on the application of the system 10.

FIGS. 2-5 illustrate an example of a FSM lattice 30. In an example, the FSM lattice 30 comprises an array of blocks 32. As will be described, each block 32 may include a plurality of selectively couple-able hardware elements (e.g., configurable elements and/or special purpose elements) that correspond to a plurality of states in a FSM. Similar to a state in a FSM, a hardware element can analyze an input stream and activate a downstream hardware element, based on the input stream.

The configurable elements can be configured (e.g., programmed) to implement many different functions. For instance, the configurable elements may include state transition elements (STEs) 34, 36 (shown in FIG. 5) that function as data analysis elements and are hierarchically organized into rows 38 (shown in FIGS. 3 and 4) and blocks 32 (shown in FIGS. 2 and 3). The STEs each may be considered an automaton, e.g., a machine or control mechanism designed to follow automatically a predetermined sequence of operations or respond to encoded instructions. Taken together, the STEs form an automata processor as state machine engine 14. To route signals between the hierarchically organized STEs 34, 36, a hierarchy of configurable switching elements can be used, including inter-block switching elements 40 (shown in FIGS. 2 and 3), intra-block switching elements 42 (shown in FIGS. 3 and 4) and intra-row switching elements 44 (shown in FIG. 4).

As described below, the switching elements may include routing structures and buffers. A STE 34, 36 can correspond to a state of a FSM implemented by the FSM lattice 30. The STEs 34, 36 can be coupled together by using the configurable switching elements as described below. Accordingly, a FSM can be implemented on the FSM lattice 30 by configuring the STEs 34, 36 to correspond to the functions of states and by selectively coupling together the STEs 34, 36 to correspond to the transitions between states in the FSM.

FIG. 2 illustrates an overall view of an example of a FSM lattice 30. The FSM lattice 30 includes a plurality of blocks 32 that can be selectively coupled together with configurable inter-block switching elements 40. The inter-block switching elements 40 may include conductors 46 (e.g., wires, traces, etc.) and buffers 48, 50. In an example, buffers 48 and 50 are included to control the connection and timing of signals to/from the inter-block switching elements 40. As described further below, the buffers 48 may be provided to buffer data being sent between blocks 32, while the buffers 50 may be provided to buffer data being sent between inter-block switching elements 40. Additionally, the blocks 32 can be selectively coupled to an input block 52 (e.g., a data input port) for receiving signals (e.g., data) and providing the data to the blocks 32. The blocks 32 can also be selectively coupled to an output block 54 (e.g., an output port) for providing signals from the blocks 32 to an external device (e.g., another FSM lattice 30). The FSM lattice 30 can also include a programming interface 56 to configure (e.g., via an image, program) the FSM lattice 30. The image can configure (e.g., set) the state of the STEs 34, 36. For example, the image can configure the STEs 34, 36 to react in a certain way to a given input at the input block 52. For example, a STE 34, 36 can be set to output a high signal when the character ‘a’ is received at the input block 52.

In an example, the input block 52, the output block 54, and/or the programming interface 56 can be implemented as registers such that writing to or reading from the registers provides data to or from the respective elements. Accordingly, bits from the image stored in the registers corresponding to the programming interface 56 can be loaded on the STEs 34, 36. Although FIG. 2 illustrates a certain number of conductors (e.g., wire, trace) between a block 32, input block 52, output block 54, and an inter-block switching element 40, it should be understood that in other examples, fewer or more conductors may be used.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a block 32. A block 32 can include a plurality of rows 38 that can be selectively coupled together with configurable intra-block switching elements 42. Additionally, a row 38 can be selectively coupled to another row 38 within another block 32 with the inter-block switching elements 40. A row 38 includes a plurality of STEs 34, 36 organized into pairs of configurable elements that are referred to herein as groups of two (GOTs) 60. In an example, a block 32 comprises sixteen (16) rows 38.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a row 38. A GOT 60 can be selectively coupled to other GOTs 60 and any other elements (e.g., a special purpose element 58) within the row 38 by configurable intra-row switching elements 44. A GOT 60 can also be coupled to other GOTs 60 in other rows 38 with the intra-block switching element 42, or other GOTs 60 in other blocks 32 with an inter-block switching element 40. In an example, a GOT 60 has a first and second input 62, 64, and an output 66. The first input 62 is coupled to a first STE 34 of the GOT 60 and the second input 64 is coupled to a second STE 36 of the GOT 60, as will be further illustrated with reference to FIG. 5.

In an example, the row 38 includes a first and second plurality of row interconnection conductors 68, 70. In an example, an input 62, 64 of a GOT 60 can be coupled to one or more row interconnection conductors 68, 70, and an output 66 can be coupled to one or more row interconnection conductor 68, 70. In an example, a first plurality of the row interconnection conductors 68 can be coupled to each STE 34, 36 of each GOT 60 within the row 38. A second plurality of the row interconnection conductors 70 can be coupled to only one STE 34, 36 of each GOT 60 within the row 38, but cannot be coupled to the other STE 34, 36 of the GOT 60. In an example, a first half of the second plurality of row interconnection conductors 70 can couple to first half of the STEs 34, 36 within a row 38 (one STE 34 from each GOT 60) and a second half of the second plurality of row interconnection conductors 70 can couple to a second half of the STEs 34, 36 within a row 38 (the other STE 34, 36 from each GOT 60), as will be better illustrated with respect to FIG. 5. The limited connectivity between the second plurality of row interconnection conductors 70 and the STEs 34, 36 is referred to herein as “parity”. In an example, the row 38 can also include a special purpose element 58 such as a counter, a configurable Boolean logic element, look-up table, RAM, a field configurable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a configurable processor (e.g., a microprocessor), or other element for performing a special purpose function.

In an example, the special purpose element 58 comprises a counter (also referred to herein as counter 58). In an example, the counter 58 comprises a 12-bit configurable down counter. The 12-bit configurable counter 58 has a counting input, a reset input, and zero-count output. The counting input, when asserted, decrements the value of the counter 58 by one. The reset input, when asserted, causes the counter 58 to load an initial value from an associated register. For the 12-bit counter 58, up to a 12-bit number can be loaded in as the initial value. When the value of the counter 58 is decremented to zero (0), the zero-count output is asserted. The counter 58 also has at least two modes, pulse and hold. When the counter 58 is set to pulse mode, the zero-count output is asserted when the counter 58 reaches zero. For example, the zero-count output is asserted during the processing of an immediately subsequent next data byte, which results in the counter 58 being offset in time with respect to the input character cycle. After the next character cycle, the zero-count output is no longer asserted. In this manner, for example, in the pulse mode, the zero-count output is asserted for one input character processing cycle. When the counter 58 is set to hold mode the zero-count output is asserted during the clock cycle when the counter 58 decrements to zero, and stays asserted until the counter 58 is reset by the reset input being asserted.

In another example, the special purpose element 58 comprises Boolean logic. For example, the Boolean logic may be used to perform logical functions, such as AND, OR, NAND, NOR, Sum of Products (SoP), Negated-Output Sum of Products (NSoP), Negated-Output Product of Sume (NPoS), and Product of Sums (PoS) functions. This Boolean logic can be used to extract data from terminal state STEs (corresponding to terminal nodes of a FSM, as discussed later herein) in FSM lattice 30. The data extracted can be used to provide state data to other FSM lattices 30 and/or to provide configuring data used to reconfigure FSM lattice 30, or to reconfigure another FSM lattice 30.

FIG. 4A is an illustration of an example of a block 32 having rows 38 which each include the special purpose element 58. For example, the special purpose elements 58 in the block 32 may include counter cells 58A and Boolean logic cells 58B. While only the rows 38 in row positions 0 through 4 are illustrated in FIG. 4A (e.g., labeled 38A through 38E), each block 32 may have any number of rows 38 (e.g., 16 rows 38), and one or more special purpose elements 58 may be configured in each of the rows 38. For example, in one embodiment, counter cells 58A may be configured in certain rows 38 (e.g., in row positions 0, 4, 8, and 12), while the Boolean logic cells 58B may be configured in the remaining of the 16 rows 38 (e.g., in row positions 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, and 16). The GOT 60 and the special purpose elements 58 may be selectively coupled (e.g., selectively connected) in each row 38 through intra-row switching elements 44, where each row 38 of the block 32 may be selectively coupled with any of the other rows 38 of the block 32 through intra-block switching elements 42.

In some embodiments, each active GOT 60 in each row 38 may output a signal indicating whether one or more conditions are detected (e.g., a search result is detected), and the special purpose element 58 in the row 38 may receive the GOT 60 output to determine whether certain quantifiers of the one or more conditions are met and/or count a number of times a condition is detected. For example, quantifiers of a count operation may include determining whether a condition was detected at least a certain number of times, determining whether a condition was detected no more than a certain number of times, determining whether a condition was detected exactly a certain number of times, and determining whether a condition was detected within a certain range of times.

Outputs from the counter 58A and/or the Boolean logic cell 58B may be communicated through the intra-row switching elements 44 and the intra-block switching elements 42 to perform counting or logic with greater complexity. For example, counters 58A may be configured to implement the quantifiers, such as asserting an output only when a condition is detected an exact number of times. Counters 58A in a block 32 may also be used concurrently, thereby increasing the total bit count of the combined counters to count higher numbers of a detected condition. Furthermore, in some embodiments, different special purpose elements 58 such as counters 58A and Boolean logic cells 58B may be used together. For example, an output of one or more Boolean logic cells 58B may be counted by one or more counters 58A in a block 32.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a GOT 60. The GOT 60 includes a first STE 34 and a second STE 36 coupled to intra-group circuitry 37. For example, the first STE 34 and a second STE 36 may have inputs 62, 64 and outputs 72, 74 coupled to an OR gate 76 and a 3-to-1 multiplexer 78 of the intra-group circuitry 37. The 3-to-1 multiplexer 78 can be set to couple the output 66 of the GOT 60 to either the first STE 34, the second STE 36, or the OR gate 76. The OR gate 76 can be used to couple together both outputs 72, 74 to form the common output 66 of the GOT 60. In an example, the first and second STE 34, 36 exhibit parity, as discussed above, where the input 62 of the first STE 34 can be coupled to some of the row interconnection conductors 68 and the input 64 of the second STE 36 can be coupled to other row interconnection conductors 70 the common output 66 may be produced which may overcome parity problems. In an example, the two STEs 34, 36 within a GOT 60 can be cascaded and/or looped back to themselves by setting either or both of switching elements 79. The STEs 34, 36 can be cascaded by coupling the output 72, 74 of the STEs 34, 36 to the input 62, 64 of the other STE 34, 36. The STEs 34, 36 can be looped back to themselves by coupling the output 72, 74 to their own input 62, 64. Accordingly, the output 72 of the first STE 34 can be coupled to neither, one, or both of the input 62 of the first STE 34 and the input 64 of the second STE 36. Additionally, as each of the inputs 62, 64 may be coupled to a plurality of row routing lines, an OR gate may be utilized to select any of the inputs from these row routing lines along inputs 62, 64, as well as the outputs 72, 74.

In an example, each state transition element 34, 36 comprises a plurality of memory cells 80, such as those often used in dynamic random access memory (DRAM), coupled in parallel to a detect line 82. One such memory cell 80 comprises a memory cell that can be set to a data state, such as one that corresponds to either a high or a low value (e.g., a 1 or 0). The output of the memory cell 80 is coupled to the detect line 82 and the input to the memory cell 80 receives signals based on data on the data stream line 84. In an example, an input at the input block 52 is decoded to select one or more of the memory cells 80. The selected memory cell 80 provides its stored data state as an output onto the detect line 82. For example, the data received at the input block 52 can be provided to a decoder (not shown) and the decoder can select one or more of the data stream lines 84. In an example, the decoder can convert an 8-bit ACSII character to the corresponding 1 of 256 data stream lines 84.

A memory cell 80, therefore, outputs a high signal to the detect line 82 when the memory cell 80 is set to a high value and the data on the data stream line 84 selects the memory cell 80. When the data on the data stream line 84 selects the memory cell 80 and the memory cell 80 is set to a low value, the memory cell 80 outputs a low signal to the detect line 82. The outputs from the memory cells 80 on the detect line 82 are sensed by a detection cell 86.

In an example, the signal on an input line 62, 64 sets the respective detection cell 86 to either an active or inactive state. When set to the inactive state, the detection cell 86 outputs a low signal on the respective output 72, 74 regardless of the signal on the respective detect line 82. When set to an active state, the detection cell 86 outputs a high signal on the respective output line 72, 74 when a high signal is detected from one of the memory cells 82 of the respective STE 34, 36. When in the active state, the detection cell 86 outputs a low signal on the respective output line 72, 74 when the signals from all of the memory cells 82 of the respective STE 34, 36 are low.

In an example, an STE 34, 36 includes 256 memory cells 80 and each memory cell 80 is coupled to a different data stream line 84. Thus, an STE 34, 36 can be programmed to output a high signal when a selected one or more of the data stream lines 84 have a high signal thereon. For example, the STE 34 can have a first memory cell 80 (e.g., bit 0) set high and all other memory cells 80 (e.g., bits 1-255) set low. When the respective detection cell 86 is in the active state, the STE 34 outputs a high signal on the output 72 when the data stream line 84 corresponding to bit 0 has a high signal thereon. In other examples, the STE 34 can be set to output a high signal when one of multiple data stream lines 84 have a high signal thereon by setting the appropriate memory cells 80 to a high value.

In an example, a memory cell 80 can be set to a high or low value by reading bits from an associated register. Accordingly, the STEs 34 can be configured by storing an image created by the compiler 20 into the registers and loading the bits in the registers into associated memory cells 80. In an example, the image created by the compiler 20 includes a binary image of high and low (e.g., 1 and 0) bits. The image can configure the FSM lattice 30 to implement a FSM by cascading the STEs 34, 36. For example, a first STE 34 can be set to an active state by setting the detection cell 86 to the active state. The first STE 34 can be set to output a high signal when the data stream line 84 corresponding to bit 0 has a high signal thereon. The second STE 36 can be initially set to an inactive state, but can be set to, when active, output a high signal when the data stream line 84 corresponding to bit 1 has a high signal thereon. The first STE 34 and the second STE 36 can be cascaded by setting the output 72 of the first STE 34 to couple to the input 64 of the second STE 36. Thus, when a high signal is sensed on the data stream line 84 corresponding to bit 0, the first STE 34 outputs a high signal on the output 72 and sets the detection cell 86 of the second STE 36 to an active state. When a high signal is sensed on the data stream line 84 corresponding to bit 1, the second STE 36 outputs a high signal on the output 74 to activate another STE 36 or for output from the FSM lattice 30.

In an example, a single FSM lattice 30 is implemented on a single physical device, however, in other examples two or more FSM lattices 30 can be implemented on a single physical device (e.g., physical chip). In an example, each FSM lattice 30 can include a distinct data input block 52, a distinct output block 54, a distinct programming interface 56, and a distinct set of configurable elements. Moreover, each set of configurable elements can react (e.g., output a high or low signal) to data at their corresponding data input block 52. For example, a first set of configurable elements corresponding to a first FSM lattice 30 can react to the data at a first data input block 52 corresponding to the first FSM lattice 30. A second set of configurable elements corresponding to a second FSM lattice 30 can react to a second data input block 52 corresponding to the second FSM lattice 30. Accordingly, each FSM lattice 30 includes a set of configurable elements, wherein different sets of configurable elements can react to different input data. Similarly, each FSM lattice 30, and each corresponding set of configurable elements can provide a distinct output. In some examples, an output block 54 from a first FSM lattice 30 can be coupled to an input block 52 of a second FSM lattice 30, such that input data for the second FSM lattice 30 can include the output data from the first FSM lattice 30 in a hierarchical arrangement of a series of FSM lattices 30.

In an example, an image for loading onto the FSM lattice 30 comprises a plurality of bits of data for configuring the configurable elements, the configurable switching elements, and the special purpose elements within the FSM lattice 30. In an example, the image can be loaded onto the FSM lattice 30 to configure the FSM lattice 30 to provide a desired output based on certain inputs. The output block 54 can provide outputs from the FSM lattice 30 based on the reaction of the configurable elements to data at the data input block 52. An output from the output block 54 can include a single bit indicating a search result of a given pattern, a word comprising a plurality of bits indicating search results and non-search results to a plurality of patterns, and a state vector corresponding to the state of all or certain configurable elements at a given moment. As described, a number of FSM lattices 30 may be included in a state machine engine, such as state machine engine 14, to perform data analysis, such as pattern-recognition (e.g., speech recognition, image recognition, etc.) signal processing, imaging, computer vision, cryptography, and others.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example model of a finite state machine (FSM) that can be implemented by the FSM lattice 30. The FSM lattice 30 can be configured (e.g., programmed) as a physical implementation of a FSM. A FSM can be represented as a diagram 90, (e.g., directed graph, undirected graph, pseudograph), which contains one or more root nodes 92. In addition to the root nodes 92, the FSM can be made up of several standard nodes 94 and terminal nodes 96 that are connected to the root nodes 92 and other standard nodes 94 through one or more edges 98. A node 92, 94, 96 corresponds to a state in the FSM. The edges 98 correspond to the transitions between the states.

Each of the nodes 92, 94, 96 can be in either an active or an inactive state. When in the inactive state, a node 92, 94, 96 does not react (e.g., respond) to input data. When in an active state, a node 92, 94, 96 can react to input data. An upstream node 92, 94 can react to the input data by activating a node 94, 96 that is downstream from the node when the input data matches criteria specified by an edge 98 between the upstream node 92, 94 and the downstream node 94, 96. For example, a first node 94 that specifies the character ‘b’ will activate a second node 94 connected to the first node 94 by an edge 98 when the first node 94 is active and the character ‘b’ is received as input data. As used herein, “upstream” refers to a relationship between one or more nodes, where a first node that is upstream of one or more other nodes (or upstream of itself in the case of a loop or feedback configuration) refers to the situation in which the first node can activate the one or more other nodes (or can activate itself in the case of a loop). Similarly, “downstream” refers to a relationship where a first node that is downstream of one or more other nodes (or downstream of itself in the case of a loop) can be activated by the one or more other nodes (or can be activated by itself in the case of a loop). Accordingly, the terms “upstream” and “downstream” are used herein to refer to relationships between one or more nodes, but these terms do not preclude the use of loops or other non-linear paths among the nodes.

In the diagram 90, the root node 92 can be initially activated and can activate downstream nodes 94 when the input data matches an edge 98 from the root node 92. Nodes 94 can activate nodes 96 when the input data matches an edge 98 from the node 94. Nodes 94, 96 throughout the diagram 90 can be activated in this manner as the input data is received. A terminal node 96 corresponds to a search result of a sequence of interest in the input data. Accordingly, activation of a terminal node 96 indicates that a sequence of interest has been received as the input data. In the context of the FSM lattice 30 implementing a pattern recognition function, arriving at a terminal node 96 can indicate that a specific pattern of interest has been detected in the input data.

In an example, each root node 92, standard node 94, and terminal node 96 can correspond to a configurable element in the FSM lattice 30. Each edge 98 can correspond to connections between the configurable elements. Thus, a standard node 94 that transitions to (e.g., has an edge 98 connecting to) another standard node 94 or a terminal node 96 corresponds to a configurable element that transitions to (e.g., provides an output to) another configurable element. In some examples, the root node 92 does not have a corresponding configurable element.

As will be appreciated, although the node 92 is described as a root node and nodes 96 are described as terminal nodes, there may not necessarily be a particular “start” or root node and there may not necessarily be a particular “end” or output node. In other words, any node may be a starting point and any node may provide output.

When the FSM lattice 30 is programmed, each of the configurable elements can also be in either an active or inactive state. A given configurable element, when inactive, does not react to the input data at a corresponding data input block 52. An active configurable element can react to the input data at the data input block 52, and can activate a downstream configurable element when the input data matches the setting of the configurable element. When a configurable element corresponds to a terminal node 96, the configurable element can be coupled to the output block 54 to provide an indication of a search result to an external device.

An image loaded onto the FSM lattice 30 via the programming interface 56 can configure the configurable elements and special purpose elements, as well as the connections between the configurable elements and special purpose elements, such that a desired FSM is implemented through the sequential activation of nodes based on reactions to the data at the data input block 52. In an example, a configurable element remains active for a single data cycle (e.g., a single character, a set of characters, a single clock cycle) and then becomes inactive unless re-activated by an upstream configurable element.

A terminal node 96 can be considered to store a compressed history of past search results. For example, the one or more patterns of input data required to reach a terminal node 96 can be represented by the activation of that terminal node 96. In an example, the output provided by a terminal node 96 is binary, for example, the output indicates whether a search result for a pattern of interest has been generated or not. The ratio of terminal nodes 96 to standard nodes 94 in a diagram 90 may be quite small. In other words, although there may be a high complexity in the FSM, the output of the FSM may be small by comparison.

In an example, the output of the FSM lattice 30 can comprise a state vector. The state vector comprises the state (e.g., activated or not activated) of configurable elements of the FSM lattice 30. In another example, the state vector can include the state of all or a subset of the configurable elements whether or not the configurable elements corresponds to a terminal node 96. In an example, the state vector includes the states for the configurable elements corresponding to terminal nodes 96. Thus, the output can include a collection of the indications provided by all terminal nodes 96 of a diagram 90. The state vector can be represented as a word, where the binary indication provided by each terminal node 96 comprises one bit of the word. This encoding of the terminal nodes 96 can provide an effective indication of the detection state (e.g., whether and what sequences of interest have been detected) for the FSM lattice 30.

As mentioned above, the FSM lattice 30 can be programmed to implement a pattern recognition function. For example, the FSM lattice 30 can be configured to recognize one or more data sequences (e.g., signatures, patterns) in the input data. When a data sequence of interest is recognized by the FSM lattice 30, an indication of that recognition can be provided at the output block 54. In an example, the pattern recognition can recognize a string of symbols (e.g., ASCII characters) to, for example, identify malware or other data in network data.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of hierarchical structure 100, wherein two levels of FSM lattices 30 are coupled in series and used to analyze data. Specifically, in the illustrated embodiment, the hierarchical structure 100 includes a first FSM lattice 30A and a second FSM lattice 30B arranged in series. Each FSM lattice 30 includes a respective data input block 52 to receive data input, a programming interface block 56 to receive configuring signals and an output block 54.

The first FSM lattice 30A is configured to receive input data, for example, raw data at a data input block. The first FSM lattice 30A reacts to the input data as described above and provides an output at an output block. The output from the first FSM lattice 30A is sent to a data input block of the second FSM lattice 30B. The second FSM lattice 30B can then react based on the output provided by the first FSM lattice 30A and provide a corresponding output signal 102 of the hierarchical structure 100. This hierarchical coupling of two FSM lattices 30A and 30B in series provides a means to provide data regarding past search results in a compressed word from a first FSM lattice 30A to a second FSM lattice 30B. The data provided can effectively be a summary of complex matches (e.g., sequences of interest) that were recorded by the first FSM lattice 30A.

FIG. 7A illustrates a second two-level hierarchy 100 of FSM lattices 30A, 30B, 30C, and 30D, which allows the overall FSM 100 (inclusive of all or some of FSM lattices 30A, 30B, 30C, and 30D) to perform two independent levels of analysis of the input data. The first level (e.g., FSM lattice 30A, FSM lattice 30B, and/or FSM lattice 30C) analyzes the same data stream, which includes data inputs to the overall FSM 100. The outputs of the first level (e.g., FSM lattice 30A, FSM lattice 30B, and/or FSM lattice 30C) become the inputs to the second level, (e.g., FSM lattice 30D). FSM lattice 30D performs further analysis of the combination the analysis already performed by the first level (e.g., FSM lattice 30A, FSM lattice 30B, and/or FSM lattice 30C). By connecting multiple FSM lattices 30A, 30B, and 30C together, increased knowledge about the data stream input may be obtained by FSM lattice 30D.

The first level of the hierarchy (implemented by one or more of FSM lattice 30A, FSM lattice 30B, and FSM lattice 30C) can, for example, perform processing directly on a raw data stream. For example, a raw data stream can be received at an input block 52 of the first level FSM lattices 30A, 30B, and/or 30C and the configurable elements of the first level FSM lattices 30A, 30B, and/or 30C can react to the raw data stream. The second level (implemented by the FSM lattice 30D) of the hierarchy can process the output from the first level. For example, the second level FSM lattice 30D receives the output from an output block 54 of the first level FSM lattices 30A, 30B, and/or 30C at an input block 52 of the second level FSM lattice 30D and the configurable elements of the second level FSM lattice 30D can react to the output of the first level FSM lattices 30A, 30B, and/or 30C. Accordingly, in this example, the second level FSM lattice 30D does not receive the raw data stream as an input, but rather receives the indications of search results for patterns of interest that are generated from the raw data stream as determined by one or more of the first level FSM lattices 30A, 30B, and/or 30C. Thus, the second level FSM lattice 30D can implement a FSM 100 that recognizes patterns in the output data stream from the one or more of the first level FSM lattices 30A, 30B, and/or 30C. However, it should also be appreciated that the second level FSM lattice 30D can additionally receive the raw data stream as an input, for example, in conjunction with the indications of search results for patterns of interest that are generated from the raw data stream as determined by one or more of the first level FSM lattices 30A, 30B, and/or 30C. It should be appreciated that the second level FSM lattice 30D may receive inputs from multiple other FSM lattices in addition to receiving output from the one or more of the first level FSM lattices 30A, 30B, and/or 30C. Likewise, the second level FSM lattice 30D may receive inputs from other devices. The second level FSM lattice 30D may combine these multiple inputs to produce outputs. Finally, while only two levels of FSM lattices 30A, 30B, 30C, and 30D are illustrated, it is envisioned that additional levels of FSM lattices may be stacked such that there are, for example, three, four, 10, 100, or more levels of FSM lattices.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a method 110 for a compiler to convert source code into an image used to configure a FSM lattice, such as lattice 30, to implement a FSM. Method 110 includes parsing the source code into a syntax tree (block 112), converting the syntax tree into an automaton (block 114), optimizing the automaton (block 116), converting the automaton into a netlist (block 118), placing the netlist on hardware (block 120), routing the netlist (block 122), and publishing the resulting image (block 124).

In an example, the compiler 20 includes an application programming interface (API) that allows software developers to create images for implementing FSMs on the FSM lattice 30. The compiler 20 provides methods to convert an input set of regular expressions in the source code into an image that is configured to configure the FSM lattice 30. The compiler 20 can be implemented by instructions for a computer having a von Neumann architecture. These instructions can cause a processor 12 on the computer to implement the functions of the compiler 20. For example, the instructions, when executed by the processor 12, can cause the processor 12 to perform actions as described in blocks 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, 122, and 124 on source code that is accessible to the processor 12.

In an example, the source code describes search strings for identifying patterns of symbols within a group of symbols. To describe the search strings, the source code can include a plurality of regular expressions (regexes). A regex can be a string for describing a symbol search pattern. Regexes are widely used in various computer domains, such as programming languages, text editors, network security, and others. In an example, the regular expressions supported by the compiler include criteria for the analysis of unstructured data. Unstructured data can include data that is free form and has no indexing applied to words within the data. Words can include any combination of bytes, printable and non-printable, within the data. In an example, the compiler can support multiple different source code languages for implementing regexs including Perl, (e.g., Perl compatible regular expressions (PCRE)), PHP, Java, and .NET languages.

At block 112 the compiler 20 can parse the source code to form an arrangement of relationally connected operators, where different types of operators correspond to different functions implemented by the source code (e.g., different functions implemented by regexes in the source code). Parsing source code can create a generic representation of the source code. In an example, the generic representation comprises an encoded representation of the regexs in the source code in the form of a tree graph known as a syntax tree. The examples described herein refer to the arrangement as a syntax tree (also known as an “abstract syntax tree”) in other examples, however, a concrete syntax tree as part of the abstract syntax tree, a concrete syntax tree in place of the abstract syntax tree, or other arrangement can be used.

Since, as mentioned above, the compiler 20 can support multiple languages of source code, parsing converts the source code, regardless of the language, into a non-language specific representation, e.g., a syntax tree. Thus, further processing (blocks 114, 116, 118, 120) by the compiler 20 can work from a common input structure regardless of the language of the source code.

As noted above, the syntax tree includes a plurality of operators that are relationally connected. A syntax tree can include multiple different types of operators. For example, different operators can correspond to different functions implemented by the regexes in the source code.

At block 114, the syntax tree is converted into an automaton. An automaton comprises a software model of a FSM which may, for example, comprise a plurality of states. In order to convert the syntax tree into an automaton, the operators and relationships between the operators in the syntax tree are converted into states with transitions between the states. Moreover, in one embodiment, conversion of the automaton is accomplished based on the hardware of the FSM lattice 30.

In an example, input symbols for the automaton include the symbols of the alphabet, the numerals 0-9, and other printable characters. In an example, the input symbols are represented by the byte values 0 through 255 inclusive. In an example, an automaton can be represented as a directed graph where the nodes of the graph correspond to the set of states. In an example, a transition from state p to state q on an input symbol α, i.e. δ(p, α), is shown by a directed connection from node p to node q. In an example, a reversal of an automaton produces a new automaton where each transition p→q on some symbol α is reversed q→p on the same symbol. In a reversal, start states become final states and the final states become start states. In an example, the language recognized (e.g., matched) by an automaton is the set of all possible character strings which when input sequentially into the automaton will reach a final state. Each string in the language recognized by the automaton traces a path from the start state to one or more final states.

At block 116, after the automaton is constructed, the automaton is optimized to reduce its complexity and size, among other things. The automaton can be optimized by combining redundant states.

At block 118, the optimized automaton is converted into a netlist. Converting the automaton into a netlist maps each state of the automaton to a hardware element (e.g., STEs 34, 36, other elements) on the FSM lattice 30, and determines the connections between the hardware elements.

At block 120, the netlist is placed to select a specific hardware element of the target device (e.g., STEs 34, 36, special purpose elements 58) corresponding to each node of the netlist. In an example, placing selects each specific hardware element based on general input and output constraints for of the FSM lattice 30.

At block 122, the placed netlist is routed to determine the settings for the configurable switching elements (e.g., inter-block switching elements 40, intra-block switching elements 42, and intra-row switching elements 44) in order to couple the selected hardware elements together to achieve the connections describe by the netlist. In an example, the settings for the configurable switching elements are determined by determining specific conductors of the FSM lattice 30 that will be used to connect the selected hardware elements, and the settings for the configurable switching elements. Routing can take into account more specific limitations of the connections between the hardware elements than can be accounted for via the placement at block 120. Accordingly, routing may adjust the location of some of the hardware elements as determined by the global placement in order to make appropriate connections given the actual limitations of the conductors on the FSM lattice 30.

Once the netlist is placed and routed, the placed and routed netlist can be converted into a plurality of bits for configuring a FSM lattice 30. The plurality of bits are referred to herein as an image (e.g., binary image).

At block 124, an image is published by the compiler 20. The image comprises a plurality of bits for configuring specific hardware elements of the FSM lattice 30. The bits can be loaded onto the FSM lattice 30 to configure the state of STEs 34, 36, the special purpose elements 58, and the configurable switching elements such that the programmed FSM lattice 30 implements a FSM having the functionality described by the source code. Placement (block 120) and routing (block 122) can map specific hardware elements at specific locations in the FSM lattice 30 to specific states in the automaton. Accordingly, the bits in the image can configure the specific hardware elements to implement the desired function(s). In an example, the image can be published by saving the machine code to a computer readable medium. In another example, the image can be published by displaying the image on a display device. In still another example, the image can be published by sending the image to another device, such as a configuring device for loading the image onto the FSM lattice 30. In yet another example, the image can be published by loading the image onto a FSM lattice (e.g., the FSM lattice 30).

In an example, an image can be loaded onto the FSM lattice 30 by either directly loading the bit values from the image to the STEs 34, 36 and other hardware elements or by loading the image into one or more registers and then writing the bit values from the registers to the STEs 34, 36 and other hardware elements. In an example, the hardware elements (e.g., STEs 34, 36, special purpose elements 58, configurable switching elements 40, 42, 44) of the FSM lattice 30 are memory mapped such that a configuring device and/or computer can load the image onto the FSM lattice 30 by writing the image to one or more memory addresses.

Method examples described herein can be machine or computer-implemented at least in part. Some examples can include a computer-readable medium or machine-readable medium encoded with instructions operable to configure an electronic device to perform methods as described in the above examples. An implementation of such methods can include code, such as microcode, assembly language code, a higher-level language code, or the like. Such code can include computer readable instructions for performing various methods. The code may form portions of computer program products. Further, the code may be tangibly stored on one or more volatile or non-volatile computer-readable media during execution or at other times. These computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to, hard disks, removable magnetic disks, removable optical disks (e.g., compact disks and digital video disks), magnetic cassettes, memory cards or sticks, random access memories (RAMs), read only memories (ROMs), and the like.

Referring now to FIG. 9, an embodiment of the state machine engine 14 (e.g., a single device on a single chip) is illustrated. As previously described, the state machine engine 14 is configured to receive data from a source, such as the memory 16 over a data bus. In the illustrated embodiment, data may be sent to the state machine engine 14 through a bus interface, such as a double data rate (DDR) bus interface 130 (e.g., a DDR3 or a DDR4 bus interface). The DDR bus interface 130 may be capable of exchanging (e.g., providing and receiving) data at a rate greater than or equal to 1 GByte/sec. Such a data exchange rate may be greater than a rate that data is analyzed by the state machine engine 14. As will be appreciated, depending on the source of the data to be analyzed, the bus interface 130 may be any suitable bus interface for exchanging data to and from a data source to the state machine engine 14, such as a NAND Flash interface, peripheral component interconnect (PCI) interface, gigabit media independent interface (GMMI), etc. As previously described, the state machine engine 14 includes one or more FSM lattices 30 configured to analyze data. Each FSM lattice 30 may be divided into two half-lattices. In the illustrated embodiment, each half lattice may include 24K STEs (e.g., STEs 34, 36), such that the lattice 30 includes 48K STEs. The lattice 30 may comprise any desirable number of STEs, arranged as previously described with regard to FIGS. 2-5. Further, while only one FSM lattice 30 is illustrated, the state machine engine 14 may include multiple FSM lattices 30, as previously described.

Data to be analyzed may be received at the bus interface 130 and provided to the FSM lattice 30 through a number of buffers and buffer interfaces. In the illustrated embodiment, the data path includes input buffers 132, an instruction buffer 133, process buffers 134, and an inter-rank (IR) bus and process buffer interface 136. The input buffers 132 are configured to receive and temporarily store data to be analyzed. In one embodiment, there are two input buffers 132 (input buffer A and input buffer B). Data may be stored in one of the two data input 132, while data is being emptied from the other input buffer 132, for analysis by the FSM lattice 30. The bus interface 130 may be configured to provide data to be analyzed to the input buffers 132 until the input buffers 132 are full. After the input buffers 132 are full, the bus interface 130 may be configured to be free to be used for other purpose (e.g., to provide other data from a data stream until the input buffers 132 are available to receive additional data to be analyzed). In the illustrated embodiment, the input buffers 132 may be 32 KBytes each. The instruction buffer 133 is configured to receive instructions from the processor 12 via the bus interface 130, such as instructions that correspond to the data to be analyzed and instructions that correspond to configuring the state machine engine 14. The IR bus and process buffer interface 136 may facilitate providing data to the process buffer 134. The IR bus and process buffer interface 136 can be used to ensure that data is processed by the FSM lattice 30 in order. The IR bus and process buffer interface 136 may coordinate the exchange of data, timing data, packing instructions, etc. such that data is received and analyzed correctly. Generally, the IR bus and process buffer interface 136 allows the analyzing of multiple data sets in parallel through a logical rank of FSM lattices 30. For example, multiple physical devices (e.g., state machine engines 14, chips, separate devices) may be arranged in a rank and may provide data to each other via the IR bus and process buffer interface 136. For purposes of this application the term “rank” refers to a set of state machine engines 14 connected to the same chip select. In the illustrated embodiment, the IR bus and process buffer interface 136 may include a 32 bit data bus. In other embodiments, the IR bus and process buffer interface 136 may include any suitable data bus, such as a 128 bit data bus.

In the illustrated embodiment, the state machine engine 14 also includes a de-compressor 138 and a compressor 140 to aid in providing state vector data through the state machine engine 14. The compressor 140 and de-compressor 138 work in conjunction such that the state vector data can be compressed to minimize the data providing times. By compressing the state vector data, the bus utilization time may be minimized. The compressor 140 and de-compressor 138 can also be configured to handle state vector data of varying burst lengths. By padding compressed state vector data and including an indicator as to when each compressed region ends, the compressor 140 may improve the overall processing speed through the state machine engine 14. The compressor 140 may be used to compress results data after analysis by the FSM lattice 30. The compressor 140 and de-compressor 138 may also be used to compress and decompress configuration data. In one embodiment, the compressor 140 and de-compressor 138 may be disabled (e.g., turned off) such that data flowing to and/or from the compressor 140 and de-compressor 138 is not modified.

As previously described, an output of the FSM lattice 30 can comprise a state vector. The state vector comprises the state (e.g., activated or not activated) of the STEs 34, 36 of the FSM lattice 30 and the dynamic (e.g., current) count of the counter 58. The state machine engine 14 includes a state vector system 141 having a state vector cache memory 142, a state vector memory buffer 144, a state vector intermediate input buffer 146, and a state vector intermediate output buffer 148. The state vector system 141 may be used to store multiple state vectors of the FSM lattice 30 and to provide a state vector to the FSM lattice 30 to restore the FSM lattice 30 to a state corresponding to the provided state vector. For example, each state vector may be temporarily stored in the state vector cache memory 142. For example, the state of each STE 34, 36 may be stored, such that the state may be restored and used in further analysis at a later time, while freeing the STEs 34, 36 for further analysis of a new data set (e.g., search terms). Like a typical cache, the state vector cache memory 142 allows storage of state vectors for quick retrieval and use, here by the FSM lattice 30, for instance. In the illustrated embodiment, the state vector cache memory 142 may store up to 512 state vectors.

As will be appreciated, the state vector data may be exchanged between different state machine engines 14 (e.g., chips) in a rank. The state vector data may be exchanged between the different state machine engines 14 for various purposes such as: to synchronize the state of the STEs 34, 36 of the FSM lattices 30 of the state machine engines 14, to perform the same functions across multiple state machine engines 14, to reproduce results across multiple state machine engines 14, to cascade results across multiple state machine engines 14, to store a history of states of the STEs 34, 36 used to analyze data that is cascaded through multiple state machine engines 14, and so forth. Furthermore, it should be noted that within a state machine engine 14, the state vector data may be used to quickly configure the STEs 34, 36 of the FSM lattice 30. For example, the state vector data may be used to restore the state of the STEs 34, 36 to an initialized state (e.g., to prepare for a new input data set), or to restore the state of the STEs 34, 36 to prior state (e.g., to continue searching of an interrupted or “split” input data set). In certain embodiments, the state vector data may be provided to the bus interface 130 so that the state vector data may be provided to the processor 12 (e.g., for analysis of the state vector data, reconfiguring the state vector data to apply modifications, reconfiguring the state vector data to improve efficiency of the STEs 34, 36, and so forth).

For example, in certain embodiments, the state machine engine 14 may provide cached state vector data (e.g., data stored by the state vector system 141) from the FSM lattice 30 to an external device. The external device may receive the state vector data, modify the state vector data, and provide the modified state vector data to the state machine engine 14 for configuring the FSM lattice 30. Accordingly, the external device may modify the state vector data so that the state machine engine 14 may skip states (e.g., jump around) as desired.

The state vector cache memory 142 may receive state vector data from any suitable device. For example, the state vector cache memory 142 may receive a state vector from the FSM lattice 30, another FSM lattice 30 (e.g., via the IR bus and process buffer interface 136), the de-compressor 138, and so forth. In the illustrated embodiment, the state vector cache memory 142 may receive state vectors from other devices via the state vector memory buffer 144. Furthermore, the state vector cache memory 142 may provide state vector data to any suitable device. For example, the state vector cache memory 142 may provide state vector data to the state vector memory buffer 144, the state vector intermediate input buffer 146, and the state vector intermediate output buffer 148.

Additional buffers, such as the state vector memory buffer 144, state vector intermediate input buffer 146, and state vector intermediate output buffer 148, may be utilized in conjunction with the state vector cache memory 142 to accommodate rapid retrieval and storage of state vectors, while processing separate data sets with interleaved packets through the state machine engine 14. In the illustrated embodiment, each of the state vector memory buffer 144, the state vector intermediate input buffer 146, and the state vector intermediate output buffer 148 may be configured to temporarily store one state vector. The state vector memory buffer 144 may be used to receive state vector data from any suitable device and to provide state vector data to any suitable device. For example, the state vector memory buffer 144 may be used to receive a state vector from the FSM lattice 30, another FSM lattice 30 (e.g., via the IR bus and process buffer interface 136), the de-compressor 138, and the state vector cache memory 142. As another example, the state vector memory buffer 144 may be used to provide state vector data to the IR bus and process buffer interface 136 (e.g., for other FSM lattices 30), the compressor 140, and the state vector cache memory 142.

Likewise, the state vector intermediate input buffer 146 may be used to receive state vector data from any suitable device and to provide state vector data to any suitable device. For example, the state vector intermediate input buffer 146 may be used to receive a state vector from an FSM lattice 30 (e.g., via the IR bus and process buffer interface 136), the de-compressor 138, and the state vector cache memory 142. As another example, the state vector intermediate input buffer 146 may be used to provide a state vector to the FSM lattice 30. Furthermore, the state vector intermediate output buffer 148 may be used to receive a state vector from any suitable device and to provide a state vector to any suitable device. For example, the state vector intermediate output buffer 148 may be used to receive a state vector from the FSM lattice 30 and the state vector cache memory 142. As another example, the state vector intermediate output buffer 148 may be used to provide a state vector to an FSM lattice 30 (e.g., via the IR bus and process buffer interface 136) and the compressor 140.

Once a result of interest is produced by the FSM lattice 30, an event vector may be stored in a event vector memory 150, whereby, for example, the event vector indicates at least one search result (e.g., detection of a pattern of interest). The event vector can then be sent to an event buffer 152 for transmission over the bus interface 130 to the processor 12, for example. As previously described, the results may be compressed. The event vector memory 150 may include two memory elements, memory element A and memory element B, each of which contains the results obtained by processing the input data in the corresponding input buffers 132 (e.g., input buffer A and input buffer B). In one embodiment, each of the memory elements may be DRAM memory elements or any other suitable storage devices. In some embodiments, the memory elements may operate as initial buffers to buffer the event vectors received from the FSM lattice 30, along results bus 151. For example, memory element A may receive event vectors, generated by processing the input data from input buffer A, along results bus 151 from the FSM lattice 30. Similarly, memory element B may receive event vectors, generated by processing the input data from input buffer B, along results bus 151 from the FSM lattice 30.

In one embodiment, the event vectors provided to the event vector memory 150 may indicate that a final result has been found by the FSM lattice 30. For example, the event vectors may indicate that an entire pattern has been detected. Alternatively, the event vectors provided to the event vector memory 150 may indicate, for example, that a particular state of the FSM lattice 30 has been reached. For example, the event vectors provided to the event vector memory 150 may indicate that one state (i.e., one portion of a pattern search) has been reached, so that a next state may be initiated. In this way, the event vector memory 150 may store a variety of types of results.

In some embodiments, IR bus and process buffer interface 136 may provide data to multiple FSM lattices 30 for analysis. This data may be time multiplexed. For example, if there are eight FSM lattices 30, data for each of the eight FSM lattices 30 may be provided to all of eight IR bus and process buffer interfaces 136 that correspond to the eight FSM lattices 30. Each of the eight IR bus and process buffer interfaces 136 may receive an entire data set to be analyzed. Each of the eight IR bus and process buffer interfaces 136 may then select portions of the entire data set relevant to the FSM lattice 30 associated with the respective IR bus and process buffer interface 136. This relevant data for each of the eight FSM lattices 30 may then be provided from the respective IR bus and process buffer interfaces 136 to the respective FSM lattice 30 associated therewith.

The event vector memory 150 may operate to correlate each received result with a data input that generated the result. To accomplish this, a respective result indicator may be stored corresponding to, and in some embodiments, in conjunction with, each event vector received from the results bus 151. In one embodiment, the result indicators may be a single bit flag. In another embodiment, the result indicators may be a multiple bit flag. If the result indicators may include a multiple bit flag, the bit positions of the flag may indicate, for example, a count of the position of the input data stream that corresponds to the event vector, the lattice that the event vectors correspond to, a position in set of event vectors, or other identifying information. These results indicators may include one or more bits that identify each particular event vector and allow for proper grouping and transmission of event vectors, for example, to compressor 140. Moreover, the ability to identify particular event vectors by their respective results indicators may allow for selective output of desired event vectors from the event vector memory 150. For example, only particular event vectors generated by the FSM lattice 30 may be selectively latched as an output. These result indicators may allow for proper grouping and provision of results, for example, to compressor 140. Moreover, the ability to identify particular event vectors by their respective result indicators allow for selective output of desired event vectors from the event vector memory 150. Thus, only particular event vectors provided by the FSM lattice 30 may be selectively provided to compressor 140.

Additional registers and buffers may be provided in the state machine engine 14, as well. In one embodiment, for example, a buffer may store information related to more than one process whereas a register may store information related to a single process. For instance, the state machine engine 14 may include control and status registers 154. In addition, a program buffer system (e.g., restore buffers 156) may be provided for initializing the FSM lattice 30. For example, initial (e.g., starting) state vector data may be provided from the program buffer system to the FSM lattice 30 (e.g., via the de-compressor 138). The de-compressor 138 may be used to decompress configuration data (e.g., state vector data, routing switch data, STE 34, 36 states, Boolean function data, counter data, match MUX data) provided to program the FSM lattice 30.

Similarly, a repair map buffer system (e.g., save buffers 158) may also be provided for storage of data (e.g., save maps) for setup and usage. The data stored by the repair map buffer system may include data that corresponds to repaired hardware elements, such as data identifying which STEs 34, 36 were repaired. The repair map buffer system may receive data via any suitable manner. For example, data may be provided from a “fuse map” memory, which provides the mapping of repairs done on a device during final manufacturing testing, to the save buffers 158. As another example, the repair map buffer system may include data used to modify (e.g., customize) a standard programming file so that the standard programming file may operate in a FSM lattice 30 with a repaired architecture (e.g., bad STEs 34, 36 in a FSM lattice 30 may be bypassed so they are not used). The compressor 140 may be used to compress data provided to the save buffers 158 from the fuse map memory. As illustrated, the bus interface 130 may be used to provide data to the restore buffers 156 and to provide data from the save buffers 158. As will be appreciated, the data provided to the restore buffers 156 and/or provided from the save buffers 158 may be compressed. In some embodiments, data is provided to the bus interface 130 and/or received from the bus interface 130 via a device external to the state machine engine 14 (e.g., the processor 12, the memory 16, the compiler 20, and so forth). The device external to the state machine engine 14 may be configured to receive data provided from the save buffers 158, to store the data, to analyze the data, to modify the data, and/or to provide new or modified data to the restore buffers 156.

The state machine engine 14 includes a lattice programming and instruction control system 159 used to configure (e.g., program) the FSM lattice 30 as well as provide inserted instructions, as will be described in greater detail below. As illustrated, the lattice programming and instruction control system 159 may receive data (e.g., configuration instructions) from the instruction buffer 133. Furthermore, the lattice programming and instruction control system 159 may receive data (e.g., configuration data) from the restore buffers 156. The lattice programming and instruction control system 159 may use the configuration instructions and the configuration data to configure the FSM lattice 30 (e.g., to configure routing switches, STEs 34, 36, Boolean logic cells, counters, match MUX) and may use the inserted instructions to correct errors during the operation of the state machine engine 14. The lattice programming and instruction control system 159 may also use the de-compressor 138 to de-compress data and the compressor 140 to compress data (e.g., for data exchanged with the restore buffers 156 and the save buffers 158).

As discussed above, while the system 10 has been described as including one state machine engine or automata processors (APs) 14, in other embodiments, the system 10 may include a number of state machine engines or automata processors (APs) 14. Referring to FIG. 10, a card, such as a Peripheral Component Interconnect express (PCIe) card 160, is provided. The PCIe card 160 includes 16 APs 14A-14P, for example. Alternatively, the PCIe card 160 may include a different number of APs 14A-14P, such as 32. Each AP 14A-14P includes a respective lattice 30 (see e.g., FIG. 2). As previously described, each lattice 30 of each AP 14A-14P features a combination of logic including special purpose elements 58, such as counters and Boolean logic cells, for instance, and a number of DRAM cells or RAM bits 80 on each die (i.e., AP). For instance, in one embodiment, each STE 34, 36 includes 256 RAM bits 80. Thus, in one embodiment, each PCIe card 160 includes 16 APs 14A-14P, each having a respective lattice 30. Each AP lattice 30 includes 192 blocks 32. Each block 32 includes 16 rows 38. Each row 38 includes 8 GOTs 60 and a SPE 58. Each GOT 60 includes 2 STEs 34, 36. Each STE includes 256 RAM bits 80. Alternatively, other numbers and groupings of the described elements and structures may be employed on an AP 14A-14P. In addition to including the APs 14A-14P, the PCIe card 160 may include other components, such as non-volatile memory (NVM) 162. The NVM 162 may be used to store card-specific and chip-specific information that may be used to identify the PCIe card 160 and to program the APs 14A-14P, as discussed below.

As previously described, in one embodiment, the 192 blocks 32 of each AP 14A-14P are split into two half-lattices (HL0 and HL1), as illustrated in lattice 30 of FIG. 9. As will be appreciated, each half-lattice is generally divided into an x-y indexed grid of blocks 32, x ranging from 0-7 and y ranging from 0-11. This indexed grid provides the total of 192 blocks 32 (2 half-lattices*8 x-terms*12 y-terms=192). Each lattice 30 may also be subdivided into 6 functionally identical regions (3 regions per half-lattice). The regions may be identified as sets of 4 y-terms on a specific half-lattice, spanning all x-terms as follows:

HL Y Region 0 0-3 0 0 4-7 1 0  8-11 2 1 0-3 3 1 4-7 4 1  8-11 5

Functionally, these regions are all identical. However, the regions may be useful when an AP 14A-14P produces a result of interest (e.g., a match), and an event vector for the region(s) that produced the result of interest may be created. As previously discussed, once a result of interest is produced by the FSM lattice 30, an event vector may be stored in the event vector memory 150 (FIG. 9), whereby, for example, the event vector indicates at least one search result (e.g., detection of a pattern of interest). The event vector can then be sent to an event buffer 152 for transmission over the bus interface 130 to the processor 12, for example.

As discussed previously, in order to utilize the highly parallel and configurable nature of the described state machines elements and interconnections there between, each AP 14A-14P is selectively programmed by the compiler 20 to map the logical structure (e.g., diagram 90) into a physical implementation to process and analyze the complex, unstructured data streams to produce a result of interest (e.g., detection of a pattern). Because of the unique nature of the lattices 30 of each AP 14A-14P, minor defects within a lattice of an AP 14A-14P may render a single AP 14A-14P useless, unless a mechanism for eliminating the impact of such failures is provided. For instance, unlike typical DRAM arrays which may include large areas of redundant memory cells for replacement of cells having failures detected therein, each lattice 30 of each AP 14A-14P has large sections of array that may be only minimally repairable. A single defect in either RAM bits 80 or SPEs 58 can render a die (i.e., AP) useless. Thus, during testing and fabrication, a single error detected on an AP 14A-14P often results in the entire AP 14A-14P being scrapped. As described in greater detail below, in accordance with embodiments of the invention, a solution for utilizing APs 14A-14P which may exhibit a certain number of defects is provided.

As will be appreciated, each lattice 30 of each AP 14A-14P has a large number of repeated identical blocks 32 containing RAM bits 80 and SPEs 58. Although row repairs in a block are possible, column repairs are not compatible with the current test flow. Given that a single AP lattice 30 on each AP 14A-14P is currently sub-divided into 6 regions and that each of these regions may only include 16 redundant rows for instance, a single column fail or scattered RAM bit fails numbering more than 16 on one STE 34, 36 could render an AP 14A-14P useless. Further, because there are no redundant instances of the logic elements (SPEs 58), if any one of these logical elements is found to be defective, the entire AP 14A-14P may be scrapped.

However, knowing that in any given use of an AP 14A-14P, a single programmed AP 14A-14P may not use every RAM bit 80 and SPE 58 in a particular block, and in fact will probably use only a minority of these elements in a given block 32 based on how each block 32 of an AP 14A-14P is programmed by the compiler 20, the programming of each AP 14A-14P can utilize AP-device-specific defect data to avoid non-reparable defects detected in each AP 14A-14P. In accordance with the described embodiments, each of the APs 14A-14P may be tested and a device-specific defect map may be generated such that each AP 14A-14P can be programmed utilizing the unique defect map to avoid non-repairable defective elements. For instance, and as described with reference to FIG. 11 below, a minimum allowable number, type and locality of defects per block or per region of the AP 14A-14P may be determined and for devices exhibiting fewer failures than the pre-assigned threshold, a defect map for each AP 14A-14P may be generated during test flow to catalogue exactly what elements are defective. This part-specific defect data may then be passed forward and stored in the NVM 162 on the PCIe board 160. In one embodiment, a device-specific defect map 164A-164P for each respective AP 14A-14P on the PCIe board 160 may be stored on the NVM 162. A device-specific defect map 164A-164P stored on the NVM 162 of the PCIe card 160 can then be accessed by the compiler 20 to adaptively place and route automata networks on and around partially failing blocks with little to no impact on end user functionality, while potentially significantly increasing usable component yield by reducing the number of scrapped chips. That is, when programming each respective AP 14A-14P, the compiler 20 can use the defect maps 164A-164P to selectively place automata networks in blocks 32 that can accommodate them. As long as multiple blocks 32 do not share the same defects, system function as a whole will not be compromised. As used herein, “defects,” “logic defects,” “logical defects,” and the like, refer to errors or defects in logical elements, including special purpose elements 58, such as counters and Boolean logic cells, for instance, and/or RAM bits 80 on each the AP 14A-14P.

When a user defines an automata network to load onto an AP 14A-14P, the user does not have direct control over how the automata network is mapped into the blocks 32. Instead, the compiler 20 is responsible for programming the automata network into each AP 14A-14P. As appreciated, during programming, an automata network uses one STE 34, 36 per node (e.g., 92, 94, 96) of the network, and may or may not use the SPEs 58 (e.g., counter or Boolean logic cell). In a given configuration, each STE 34, 36 will likely rely on only a few of its associated 256 RAM bits 80. Thus, utilizing the defect maps 164A-164P in conjunction with the logical configuration of a given automata network when programming each AP 14A-14P will allow the compiler 20 to determine which APs 14A-14P may be utilized for a given network.

During programming, many automata networks will be loaded concurrently onto an AP 14A-14P. As noted, each network will only use a small subset of the associated hardware components on the AP 14A-14P. If components on the AP 14A-14P contain a small number of non-repeated failures that are less than a predetermined threshold, the compiler 20 can be programmed to map the automata networks so that any blocks 32 with defects are not paired with networks that require those failing elements. These blocks 32 with defects, however, can still be used for other automata networks that do not require the defective hardware. There are also multiple mappings for a single automata network. A trivial example would be mirroring the network in the x or y direction, which would result in the same state machine function but different node-to-STE assignment. Put simply, the one-to-many nature of mapping a state machine diagram to the STE hardware allows for many possible defect avoidance methods.

Turning now to FIG. 11, a method 170 for implementing the techniques described herein to seamlessly employ APs 14A-14P having an acceptable number, type and locality of defects below a predetermined threshold is described. After fabrication, each AP 14 is tested for functionality, as indicated by element 172. As part of the functionality test, each of the RAM bits 80 in each STE 34, 36 is written to and read from to ensure that the RAM bits 80 are functional. In addition to simply programming each RAM bit 80 during test, each potential symbol that may later be detected may be used to test each RAM bit 80 to ensure that each RAM bit 80 can detect each and every symbol that may later appear in a data stream to be searched. In addition, each of the SPEs 58 (counters and Boolean elements) is tested for functionality to ensure that these logical elements are also functioning properly. That is, in addition to testing the other components of the AP 14, each of the RAM bits 80 and each of the SPEs 58 are fully tested to ensure proper functionality, and any defects are documented. Previously, any detected defects in any portion of the AP 14 would typically cause the entire AP 14 to be scrapped if such defects could not be easily corrected. However, in accordance with the disclosed techniques, APs 14 having a certain number, type and locality of defects in the RAM bits 80 or SPEs 58 may be utilized, thus increasing the number of usable chips and decreasing the time, effort and money spent when usable part yields are low.

Referring again to FIG. 11, after testing an AP 14 (block 172), a determination can be made as to whether the AP 14 has an acceptable number, type and locality of defects in the RAM bits 80 and the SPEs 58. That is, after testing the AP 14, a determination is made as to whether the number, type and location of defects in the RAM bits 80 and the SPEs 58 is below a certain threshold level, as generally indicated by decision block 174. Generally, the threshold is determined in such a way as to provide customers with an assurance of some minimum degree of functionality and flexibility of a given AP 14, such that the AP 14 is suitable for its intended purpose. Defining this minimum functionality and thus the acceptable threshold level would be used to determine what failures are allowable at the component level, and how components (i.e., APs 14) with different fail signatures (defects) can be paired. In certain embodiments, it is also possible to create different product grades for each AP 14—not based on speed, but on routing flexibility. Depending on the application, a customer may be able to utilize an AP 14 with a lower product grade which could be obtained at a lower cost, for instance. Advantageously, even in a top tier product grade, a small but non-zero number of tolerable defects would greatly increase yield and negligibly effect final system functionality.

To determine the threshold for acceptable failures for each RAM bit 80 utilized in block 174, many different rules can be employed, depending on the desired outcome and depending on the application utilizing the AP 14. In one example, the threshold level of acceptable defects may be 1 failing RAM bit 80 allowed per block 32. In a second example, the threshold level of acceptable defects may be 8 failing RAM bits 80 allowed per block 32, as long as no row 38 has more than one failing RAM bit 80. The second example may be useful for applications in which short search sequences that can be fit into a single row 38 are employed, for instance. In a third example, the threshold level of acceptable defects may be 8 failing RAM bits 80 allowed per block 32, as long as the type of failures are all unique. For instance, keeping in mind that a particular RAM bit 80 corresponds to a symbol (such as a letter) that an STE 34, 36 can match (e.g., the letter “A”), if one STE 34, 36 cannot match the symbol (e.g., the letter “A”) but every other STE 34, 36 in the block 32 can match they symbol, the AP 14 may still be acceptable. That is if 16 failures are detected in a block 32 but each of the failures corresponds to a different symbol (e.g., letter), the programming flexibility of the block 32 may allow for such a threshold level of defects. In a fourth example, the threshold level of acceptable defects may be 16 failing RAM bits 80 allowed per block 32 as long as no row 38 has more than 1 failure and all failures are unique (i.e., correspond to a different symbol).

These thresholds can also be determined considering an acceptable number of defects in the SPEs 58, in addition to or independent of the acceptable number, location and type of defects in the RAM bits 80. As will be appreciated, the number of acceptable failures of the SPEs 58 may be much lower than that of the RAM bits 80, due to the limited number of SPEs 58 on the AP 14. Accordingly, in one example, the threshold level may be a single Boolean logic cell and/or a single counter on an AP 14. In another example, if a lattice 30 is divided into regions, as discussed above, the threshold level may be a single Boolean logic cell and/or a single counter per region of an AP 14. That latter example may be acceptable considering that a region is a collection of 32 blocks 32 and each block 32 contains 12 Boolean logic cells. Thus, 1 defective Boolean cell per region means that approximately 99.7% of the Boolean logic cells remain functional in this example and that each failure would be separated from the others by a significant distance in the lattice 30. This is much less impactful on potential programming than having the same number of logical element failures next to each other in a single region, for instance. As will be appreciated, many different rules can be utilized to determine the threshold for defining “good” chips that can be used with some acceptable number of defects greater than zero and “bad” chips that have an unacceptable number of defects and thus, may not be used (e.g., scrapped). However, once a threshold is determined prior to testing the AP (block 172), this threshold can be implemented to select the APs 14 that may be used (block 174).

If, during testing of the AP 14 (block 174), the AP 14 is determined to have a number, type and location of defects above the predetermined threshold, the AP 14 may be scrapped, as indicated in block 176, or utilized in other ways than incorporation into a functional system (e.g., as a test part). If the AP 14 is determined to have an acceptable number, type and location of defects below the predetermined threshold, the AP 14 may be used in a functional system. In order to utilize the APs 14 with acceptable defects below the threshold, a defect map for each AP 14 is created, as generally indicated in block 178. As will be appreciated, the defect map may be created in any useful form such that a device-specific map is preserved and associated with each usable AP 14 to indicate the location of such defects within the AP 14.

Subsequently, during fabrication of the PCIe card 160 having one or more APs 14A-14P, the functional APs 14A-14P having acceptable defects below the threshold may be electrically and physically coupled to the substrate of the PCIe card 160, as generally indicated by block 180. As will be appreciated, the substrate of the PCIe card 160 provides signal routing lines and connections which will allow the PCIe card 160 having functional APs 14A-14P to be incorporated into a system, such as the system 10. Also during fabrication of the PCIe card, the respective defect maps 164A-164P corresponding to each of the APs 14A-14P coupled to the PCIe card 160 are stored in the NVM 162 of the PCIe card 160, as generally indicated by block 182. By storing the device-specific defect maps 164A-164P for each of the APs 14A-14P in the NVM 162, the operational and completed PCIe card 160 may later be incorporated into a system 10. The defect maps 164A-164P may be stored in any format useable by the compiler 20. For instance, an ordered list of numbers may be assigned to each RAM bit 80 and each SPE 34, 36 on an AP 14 to provide a defect location and type map, and a logical 0 or logical 1 may be used to indicate whether each element passed or failed testing. The defective elements may then be “adaptively programmed” (i.e., programmed, using the defect map, only to detect symbols that were functionally detectable during testing) or “mapped out” entirely during programming (i.e., the defective elements of the AP 14 are not programmed for use).

As used herein, “mapping out,” or the like refers to not using certain elements in which a defect was detected. That is, if an element is said to be “mapped out” during programming an AP 14 because a particular type of defect was detecting during testing, for instance, this element is not programmed for use, at all. For instance, if a defect is detected during testing in an SPE 58, such as a Boolean cell or counter, these elements may not be programmed for use, at all (i.e., “mapped out”). Similarly, if multiple types defects in a single RAM bit 80 are detected during testing, these elements may not be programmed for use. For instance, if a particular RAM bit 80 is unable to detect multiple symbols (e.g., the RAM bit 80 could not match multiple letters during testing), the RAM bit 80 may not be programmed for use.

In contrast, if an element is “adaptively programmed,” programming of the element is adapted based on the results of testing and the information contained in the defect map 164. Thus, during programming of the AP 14, the compiler utilizes the defect map 164 to ensure that particular elements are only used for to match symbols that have been successfully matched during testing. Thus, if during testing a particular RAM bit 80 cannot match one particular symbol (e.g., the letter “A”), but can match each of the other symbols required during testing, this particular RAM bit 80 may be adaptively programmed such that it is only utilized to detect a non-“A” symbol. Unlike RAM bits 80 which are tested and determined to be fully functional, and thus may be programmed to detect any desired symbol, the programming of the particular RAM bit 80 unable to detect the letter “A” is adapted such that it is programmed only to detect non-“A” symbols.

Once a PCIe card 160 is coupled into a system 10, the defect maps 164A-164P can be accessed by the compiler 20 such that the defective elements of each AP 14A-14P can be mapped out or adaptively programmed during programming of the APs 14A-14P such that defective elements are avoided for all or particular functionality during usage of the APs 14A-14P, as generally indicated in block 184. Depending on the system, the defect maps 164A-164P may be accessed and employed by the compiler 20 during one of the steps of method 110 (FIG. 8). For instance, in various embodiments, the compiler 20 may utilize the defect maps 164A-164P while converting the syntax tree into an automaton (block 114), optimizing the automaton (block 116), converting the automaton into a netlist (block 118), or placing the netlist on hardware (block 120), of process 110, as will be appreciated.

While the invention may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and have been described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: an automata processor comprising a state machine lattice; and a non-volatile memory having a defect map stored thereon, wherein the defect map comprises an indication of logical defects on the automata processor.
 2. The system of claim 1, comprising a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) board, wherein each of the automata processor and the non-volatile memory are coupled to the PCIe board.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the state machine lattice comprises a plurality of state transition elements (STEs) and wherein each of the STEs comprises a plurality of memory cells.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the state machine lattice comprises a plurality of special purpose elements.
 5. The system of claim 5, wherein at least one of the plurality of special purpose elements comprises a Boolean logic cell and wherein at least another of the plurality of special purpose elements comprises a counter.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the state machine lattice includes as least one non-repairable logical defect thereon.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the state machine lattice includes more than one non-repairable logical defect but less that a predetermined threshold of logical defects thereon and wherein the defect map indicates a type and location of each of the more than one non-repairable logical defects on the state machine lattice.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the system comprises a compiler configured to configure the automata processor.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the compiler is configured to access the non-volatile memory when configuring the automata processor and to utilize the defect map when configuring the automata processor in order to avoid configuring elements on the automata processor having logical defects indicated on the defect map.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the system comprises a plurality of automata processors each comprising a respective state machine lattice and wherein the non-volatile memory has a respective defect map stored thereon for each of the plurality of automata processors.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the state machine lattice comprises a plurality of blocks, wherein each block comprises a plurality of rows, wherein each row comprises a plurality of groups, wherein each group comprises a plurality of state transition elements (STEs) and wherein each STE comprises a plurality of memory cells.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of rows comprises a special purpose element.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the special purpose element comprises one of a Boolean logic cell or a counter.
 14. The system of claim 1, wherein the state machine lattice comprises 192 blocks, wherein each block comprises 16 rows, wherein each row comprises 8 groups, wherein each group comprises 2 state transition elements (STEs) and wherein each STE comprises a plurality of memory cells.
 15. A system comprising: a plurality of automata processors each comprising a state machine lattice, wherein at least one of the plurality of automata processors comprises a defect in its respective state machine lattice; and a non-volatile memory having a defect map stored thereon, wherein the defect map comprises an indication of the defect on the at least one of the plurality of automata processors.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the defect comprises a defect in a memory cell of the state machine lattice.
 17. The system of claim 15, wherein the defect comprises a defect in a special purpose element of the state machine lattice and wherein the special purpose element comprises one of a Boolean logic cell or a counter.
 18. The system of claim 15, wherein the at least one of the plurality of automata processors comprises a plurality of blocks, and wherein the at least one of the plurality of automata processors comprises a plurality of defects in its state machine lattice but wherein no more than one of the plurality of defects occurs in the same one of the plurality of blocks.
 19. The system of claim 15, wherein the at least one of the plurality of automata processors comprises a plurality of blocks, and wherein each of the plurality of blocks comprises a plurality of rows, and wherein the at least one of the plurality of automata processors comprises a plurality of defects in its state machine lattice but wherein no more than eight of the plurality of defects occurs in the one of the plurality of blocks and wherein no more than one of the plurality of defects occurs in the same row of the plurality of rows.
 20. The system of claim 15, wherein the system comprises a compiler configured to configure each of the plurality of automata processors.
 21. They system of claim 20, wherein the compiler is configured to access the non-volatile memory when configuring the at least one of the plurality of automata processors and to utilize the defect map when configuring the at least one of the plurality of automata processors in order to avoid configuring elements on the at least one of the plurality of automata processors having the defect indicated on the defect map.
 22. A method comprising: functionally testing an automata processor; generating a defect map of the automata processor from the testing, wherein the defect map indicates each of the defects on the automata processor; storing the defect map on a non-volatile memory; and providing the automata processor and the non-volatile memory for connection to a system board.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein functionally testing the automata processor comprises functionally testing a plurality of elements on the automata processor to determine whether a number and location of defects is below a threshold.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein functionally testing the plurality of elements comprises functionally testing a plurality of memory cells and wherein generating the defect map comprises indicating which of the memory cells has a defect.
 25. The method of claim 23, wherein functionally testing the plurality of elements comprises functionally testing a plurality of Boolean logic cells and wherein generating the defect map comprises indicating which of the plurality of Boolean logic cells has a defect.
 26. The method of claim 23, wherein functionally testing the plurality of elements comprises functionally testing a plurality of counters and wherein generating the defect map comprises indicating which of the plurality of counters has a defect.
 27. The method of claim 22, wherein functionally testing comprises assigning a product grade to the automata processor.
 28. The method of claim 22, wherein storing the defect map comprises storing a list of identifiers corresponding to each of a plurality of elements functionally tested on the automata processor and storing an indication as to which of the plurality of elements includes a defect and which of the plurality of elements does not include a defect.
 29. The method of claim 22, wherein providing comprises coupling the automata processor and the non-volatile memory to a system board.
 30. The method of claim 29, wherein coupling comprises electrically coupling the automata processor and the non-volatile memory to a Peripheral Component Interconnect express (PCIe) card.
 31. A method comprising: accessing, with a compiler, a defect map corresponding to defect locations on an automata processor; and configuring, with the compiler, the automata processor using the defect map to map out elements on the automata processor having defects.
 32. The method of claim 31, wherein accessing the defect map comprises accessing a defect map stored on a non-volatile memory.
 33. The method of claim 31, wherein accessing comprises accessing a card having the defect map stored in a non-volatile memory thereon and wherein configuring comprises configuring an automata processor on the card.
 34. The method of claim 31, wherein configuring comprises configuring the automata processor using the defect map to map out at least one of a memory cell, a Boolean logic cell or a counter on the automata processor.
 35. The method of claim 31, wherein configuring the automata processor comprises: converting a syntax tree into an automaton; optimizing the automaton; converting the automaton into a netlist; and placing the netlist on hardware of the automata processor.
 36. The method of claim 35, wherein accessing the defect map occurs during one of the converting, optimizing or placing steps. 